OK I know loads of things that can totally ruin a brew and I'm really careful about sterilising and hygiene but I have had a couple of brews lately ( hedgerow fruit wines) that have an odd, slightly bitter undertaste. Not the sort of nasty taste that shows it's off but not quite right. Not so bad that I wouldn't drink it myself (!) but definitely wouldn't serve it to anyone else. Any ideas? This has happened with elderberry, hawthorn and gooseberry.
Cause of bitter taste?
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graysalchemy
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If it is elderberry it may well be the tannin, it takes a number of years to mellow into a rounded wine IMHO.
no, I know what you mean but i know what that tastes like and it isn't that, this isn't something that is going to mellow. Also hawthorn and gooseberry are quite light wines and the ones i made last year were lovely in a couple of months. Any other ideas? It worries me that more than one brew has the same problem so I think it something I am doing wrong.
no I freeze it then defrost and pour boiling water over, and the harder fruits i squish with my hands when cool. I leave on the pulp for 4 or 5 days then siphon into demijohns to ferment. Sometimes I don't get to rack off very soon after ferment fninishes -because you don't know what day that will be and my life is busy - I wonder if that affects it?
shadow47
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I put two teaspoons of tannin in one of my wines, it now has an awful bitter after taste and I've left it to bulk age hoping this 'harshness' will die down, could take years haha.
My reasoning was, I'd already put a teaspoon of tannin in, and I like wines high in tannin so I though "another teaspoon can't hurt"... :sick:
My reasoning was, I'd already put a teaspoon of tannin in, and I like wines high in tannin so I though "another teaspoon can't hurt"... :sick:
florayG said:
Elderberries will always be rather tannic, but next time you ferment gooseberries try reducing the pulp fermentation time to 3 days as going beyond that can result in harsh flavours from the pips. Personally, I reckon hawthorn always tastes naff.
Aha so maybe there is nowt wrong with the gooseberry - but the hawthorn was lovely last year and tastes different this year, I used berries from the same plant. Very sad, you know when you have a triumph and try to repeat it? I made honeysuckle one year and when I opened it at Xmas the scent of flowers was heavenly. I've tried it several times since but never been able to do it again :hmm:
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